184 A FARMER'S YEAR 



colouring for the object of the colouring is fraud were pro- 

 hibited, it was urged that it would 'practically destroy the trade.' 

 He intimated in addition that whatever might be the rights of 

 the matter, the Government had no time to deal with it. 



It is impossible to comment upon these strange statements 

 better or more clearly than does the Times in an admirable lead- 

 ing article. Therefore, with proper acknowledgments, I take the 

 liberty to quote a few lines from that article. 



' Is it not rather hard on the man who wants to get butter 

 that he should have to eat margarine, because the man who wants 

 margarine will not eat it unless it is made to look like butter ? 

 If either of the two trades is to suffer injury, is it to be the trade 

 which wishes to sell butter under the name of butter, or the trade 

 which to please its customers wishes to sell margarine made to 

 look as like butter as possible ? ' 



Yes, and is it not rather hard on the unfortunate British 

 farmer, who, like myself, makes honest butter out of cream and 

 nothing else, that he should have to compete with an article 

 cunningly coloured to resemble it, but compounded of beef 

 stearine, arachis oil, and pork fat ? Is it not also rather hard that 

 such an answer should be given to an influential deputation by a 

 Minister supposed to sympathise with the distresses of farmers ? 

 Of course everybody understands that, like so many other things, 

 this is a question of policy, and that it is supposed more support 

 would be lost by a measure which interfered with the town trade in 

 margarine than might be gained by securing a fair market to the 

 country farmer, and to the consumer that if he asks for butter and 

 pays for butter he should get butter. Well, this is the kind of thing 

 that we agriculturists have to fight against, but I doubt whether 

 Mr. Chaplin's answer will gain many votes for Mr. Holmes at 

 the pending South Norfolk election. . 



May 6. Yesterday opened fine, but in the afternoon it came 

 on to pour, which, as there was a confirmation in the church of 

 this parish for the first time for many years, proved very incon- 



